Spoiled Milk
Banned
Was he paying the fines for health insurance? Why wasn't he on the exchanges?
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US Healthcare Sucks, But Please Use It
- Thread starter Darksol
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NoblesseOblige
Banned
Last year the fines were affordable for me whereas the cost of insurance was not. Also I managed to get the fines waived.
Team Alucard
Banned
Most plans on Obamacare are absolute garbage that don't pay anything until you reach a $15,000 deductible. For many people, that kind of debt can easily bankrupt you.
Yep. Every gun control thread will go 20+ pages easily, yet despite killing far more people and ruining far more lives american healthcare threads die almost immediately. No one wants to admit that their guy's crowing achievement is a colossal failure.
pretty done
Member
OP I'm in your friends shoes and the government just denied me Medicaid. 26 and I haven't been to a doctor or dentist since I was like 11 or 12.
What I really don't get is why I'm being fined every year come tax season for being too poor for insurance. Obamacare really just makes no damn sense to me. Does the government think I don't have insurance because I don't want insurance? I'm a childless male so I can't get Medicaid and I have no money so I can't get real insurance. So as a solution they just keep taking my money. Nice. America.
What I really don't get is why I'm being fined every year come tax season for being too poor for insurance. Obamacare really just makes no damn sense to me. Does the government think I don't have insurance because I don't want insurance? I'm a childless male so I can't get Medicaid and I have no money so I can't get real insurance. So as a solution they just keep taking my money. Nice. America.
It is what the media reports on it is what MANY Americans believe, both young and old; that you will die in a waiting room, or have to wait 6 months for a life-saving surgery. The irony in this is that I have seen people wait 10+ hours in a US hospital waiting room.
NoblesseOblige
Banned
Or maybe we all know it's a failure and so there's not much to discuss?
AstroNut325
Member
Are people of the USA really ready for single payer?
I'm recalling that Bernie tax plan thread where even the liberal members of GAF were changing their tune due to cost. The money has to come from somewhere. And it wont just be the super rich.
I'm recalling that Bernie tax plan thread where even the liberal members of GAF were changing their tune due to cost. The money has to come from somewhere. And it wont just be the super rich.
Skellig Gra
Member
Clearly not, but people often don't know whats good for them. The problem is instituting a system like this puts a lot of the burden on people who won't benefit from it. You need to be born in to a system like this and pay in to it your entire life.
Already Torn
Banned
Yeah, my soon to be step sister is 28 and is losing her feet because she didn't want to pay for insulin or utilize Obamacare because she's not a socialist and ended up going months at a time with 500+ blood sugar levels. Not going to the doctor is really a dumb thing to do. I'm sort of on the opposite side of the spectrum where the only time I've gone to the emergency room in the past 10+ years was from a WebMD-induced panic attack, but what can you do?
I'm really hoping people actually go out and vote in congressional elections this year.
I'm really hoping people actually go out and vote in congressional elections this year.
hydragonwarrior
Member
Politics in the US is the ultimate Lynch pin to progress.
But if half the country don't want it, it's completely valid no matter how irrational their reasoning is.
hydragonwarrior
Member
I assume you're in one of the states that denied the Medicaid expansion but you'd otherwise qualify? You should be exempt from the penalty if that's the case.
To answer your question, Medicaid should have covered you so that you wouldn't have any financial obligation. But since SCOTUS ruled the federally mandated expansion unconstitutional, several states (primarily Republican-controlled, including most of the former Confederate states) refused to expand it. If you fall in this gap, you need to let the IRS know when you file your taxes so that you don't have to owe a penalty. The Medicaid denial letter will serve as proof of this.
KillerMan91
Member
Health care system of US is the reason why I always cringe when I see people posting ''best country in the world'' and meaning it. Working health care system is pretty much the most essential and important part of the society and if you have a system where people are scared of going to doctor because of costs or some serious illness can possibly bankrupt them I just can't see how you can say with the straight face ''best country in the world''. Well maybe for those with enough money.
"People who have health emergencies can't wait for us to have a theoretical debate about some better idea that will never, ever come to pass."
I'm sorry for your loss OP, my condolences. I too have far too many friends who simply forego health insurance because they can't afford it. It's scary having a friend tell you about a serious health problem, but refuse to go get it looked at because they don't want to rack up a debt they don't think they'll ever be able to repay. I hoped that this election season would be the time that the US woke up to healthcare coverage as a right, but unfortunately that will not come to pass.
I'm sorry for your loss OP, my condolences. I too have far too many friends who simply forego health insurance because they can't afford it. It's scary having a friend tell you about a serious health problem, but refuse to go get it looked at because they don't want to rack up a debt they don't think they'll ever be able to repay. I hoped that this election season would be the time that the US woke up to healthcare coverage as a right, but unfortunately that will not come to pass.
Yup. Plenty of people here are content with the existing system as is. It's financially ruinous, grossly inefficient, and cruel, but it's what people want/prioritize.
Ditto.
I had health complications last year and I'm grateful that I was able to go to a series of specialists (who I continue to see) along with multiple blood tests, x-rays, ultrasounds, MRI and hospital visits. Out of all of that, I paid about $50 for two blood tests that weren't covered by OHIP and the rest was covered 100%. No premiums, deductibles or co-pay.
I'm really sorry for your loss OP, it really is a tragic situation. My cousin in US was recently diagnosed with breast cancer (she is 33) and I question whether they can afford treatments so we are offering to support them financially.
I'm fortunate enough to live in The Greatest Country In The World, and I can not afford medical care. I am, despite all efforts, in severe debt, and have virtually no money. What little that I do have goes to my daughter. I have Medi-Cal since I have my daughter, but I still can't afford to go have basic checks done, or have this awful, persistent pain in my gut looked at.
At least I have the freedom to go out, and buy all manner of guns. Not that I could afford any.
At least I have the freedom to go out, and buy all manner of guns. Not that I could afford any.
Already Torn
Banned
You'd be able to buy those guns if Obummer stopped wasting money on socialist policies and allowing ISIS agents to come into America and instead put it back into the economy.
PHOENIXZERO
Member
Despite my 93 year old grandmother having Medicare and supplemental insurance with Aetna through Dow, which takes the entirety of the pension left by my grandfather and then some and who knows what's going to happen with that post Dupont merger if it goes through. Still the bills she gets are still ridiculous and payment arrangements had to be made to cover them from an ER trip and hospital stay a few months back, she pretty much needs to be signed up for Medicade and the additional benefits that come along with it. It probably doesn't help that hospitals will charge out the ass for anything and everything way beyond what should be considered a reasonable mark-up.
If we ever get single payer heath care here though I sure as hell hope it's run a lot better than VA health care system but it probably wouldn't be.
If we ever get single payer heath care here though I sure as hell hope it's run a lot better than VA health care system but it probably wouldn't be.
lukeskymac
Member
It sucks because it's poorly managed and doesn't have enough funds. As a system it's years ahead of Obamacare.
Most people don't know beyond what they experience. A lot of people don't even know what single payer healthcare is or how it works.
This ignorance is also why political motivation to improve the current system is slow to change.
Iorv3th
Member
The healthcare system is broken, but ACA didn't make it any better. The biggest problem is price and it has only gone up for me and most people i know. I know the pre existing condition thing needed to be done, i had insurance companies drop me after a month and couldn't get insurance again. But now I can get insurance but they want to charge me more than the cost of what I use/need and it's hard to advance yourself and save anything up when your forced to pay for a service that has no benefit for you.
Though today I had to go get my hand xrayed because I think I may have broke it and everything cost me under 200$,
She can get medication for free from the companies a lot of times. PM me if your sister needs help and is willing to take it I can maybe help out I am diabetic as well and not much older than your sister so I know a lot of the shit she has to deal with.
Though today I had to go get my hand xrayed because I think I may have broke it and everything cost me under 200$,
She can get medication for free from the companies a lot of times. PM me if your sister needs help and is willing to take it I can maybe help out I am diabetic as well and not much older than your sister so I know a lot of the shit she has to deal with.
Polioliolio
Member
Well it's true. I avoid doctors at all costs. I can't afford thousands of dollars for things that should probably be checked out and taken care of, but I can probably live fine with.
When I was living in Japan, I went to the doctors and dentists like every month for the hell of it. I got a fucking colonoscopy and endoscopy and it cost about 60 dollars out of my pocket. About 300 before insurance paid for most of it. Meanwhile my father had one done in the US and it had cost him over 10,000 dollars.
Guns have more rights than people in the US.
When I was living in Japan, I went to the doctors and dentists like every month for the hell of it. I got a fucking colonoscopy and endoscopy and it cost about 60 dollars out of my pocket. About 300 before insurance paid for most of it. Meanwhile my father had one done in the US and it had cost him over 10,000 dollars.
Guns have more rights than people in the US.
lukeskymac
Member
Yes, let's just ignore that current US healthcare is massively overpriced and just pretend it can't get any better, great job.
Phoenix
Member
Depends a lot on where you live. In some states where the morons in charge refused the Medicare expansion, the citizens have to pay the full cost of the care as opposed to having a supplement to get the cost affordable.
This is sadly one of the biggest issues that isn't discussed about Obamacare. A lot of people dislike it because they think that its expensive, but the reason that its expensive is because their state decided to be assholes and not have an exchange or not have the Medicare expansion - thus making it less affordable than it was supposed to be. That gets the people on those states (mostly Red states) up in arms about Obamacare when really they should be getting up in arms about their resident retards in government.
Dee Dah Dave
Member
In the last two weeks, I've had a GP appointment, a blood test, a CT scan and a bladder endoscopy. All for 'free' on the NHS. How much would that cost in the US?
Sorry for your loss OP, and get with the program America.
Sorry for your loss OP, and get with the program America.
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
Darksol: I'm very sorry for your loss. Every time I read stories like this I get more depressed about the state of my neighbours to the south. What a fucked up country the US is, in so many ways, but I dare say in this one most of all.
The US not having a universal health care system is the biggest reason why I would never, ever, ever live in that country (unless I suddenly became a wealthy millionaire or something). It's absolutely unacceptable for a wealthy, industrialized, so-called "first world" country not to have universal health care.
The US not having a universal health care system is the biggest reason why I would never, ever, ever live in that country (unless I suddenly became a wealthy millionaire or something). It's absolutely unacceptable for a wealthy, industrialized, so-called "first world" country not to have universal health care.
dave is ok
aztek is ok
Probably over 10k
DarknessTear
Banned
I'm thankful for what I have. If it weren't for Obamacare, I never would have known I had multiple sclerosis. After having my first attack a few months ago and going numb mostly on my right side I probably would have been freaking the fuck out without healthcare. I mean, I still kinda was - but at least I'm not entirely screwed. The only part that sucks other than that is that they won't always cover the medicines I need. I really hope a cure is found someday, and that I am eligible to get it.
95k rough ballpark
Dee Dah Dave
Member
What?!
Surely 10K is closer to the truth. Although still beyond despicable.
i got a 7k bill just for staying overnight in a hospital and getting a ton of saline and an x-ray
endoscopy requires a bunch of staff just to do it.
How do they actually expect you to pay such an insane sum?
Hell even 10k. No normal guy is going to have that amount of money to spare.
That's definitely part of it, but we should be clear: health care in the US is just expensive, period. The ACA may have helped lower the rate of health care inflation (debatable) but that rate is still trending upward and outpaces general inflation. My health care plan largely lets me pay for the privilege of being slightly less price gouged at a later time.
People also just thought it was going to make health care less expensive, when that was never really the case, certainly not in the short term. For that to happen you need more substantive reforms, and there isn't anyone really advocating for that.
Well, there's one
There's a reason free medical clinics are swamped when they come around and people along the border pop over to Mexico to get dental work and the like done.
DiscoJer
Member
Yup. The VA has pretty much ruined the idea of government run health care for pretty much everyone that has had experience with the VA.
As someone who actually benefits from Obamacare - thank you Medicaid - I can still say this system is legit cancer.
What good health is it to have a system that by its very design is a have/have not social game? Why must people genuinely be averse from looking to get help because doing so may fucking ruin them? Why do we justify such plain faced mediocrity? Because we take nearly everything else shat onto our plates, basking in further failures, inadequacies, and faults?
Can we admit parts of our society are anything but first world?
A great deal of Americans don't even have $400 in the case of an emergency...
What good health is it to have a system that by its very design is a have/have not social game? Why must people genuinely be averse from looking to get help because doing so may fucking ruin them? Why do we justify such plain faced mediocrity? Because we take nearly everything else shat onto our plates, basking in further failures, inadequacies, and faults?
Can we admit parts of our society are anything but first world?
A great deal of Americans don't even have $400 in the case of an emergency...
LegendofJoe
Member
Preventative visits are 100% covered - find yourself a primary care physician and go asap.
Fox Mulder
Member
I don't have anything as I'm not paying like $300 a month for a shit ass high deductible bottom tier Obamacare plan that costs thousands to even use.
I'm blessed with good health my whole life, but I also roll the dice in hopes it continues.
I'm blessed with good health my whole life, but I also roll the dice in hopes it continues.
the-pi-guy
Member
I was going to try answering that by using the internet. But there's apparently a ton of variation.
http://time.com/money/2995166/why-does-mri-cost-so-much/
Isn't that the problem of chargemasters? I know they can charge you $12 for merely giving you a pill in a paper cup by labeling the cup a medicine dispensary device or something of that phrasing.
Consider for a moment you can buy 250 of those same cups for less than $3.
Greed is the problem with what you're highlighting.
Spiral Insanity
Banned
95k sounds about right. It's terrifying.
Just fill out these forms and we'll set you up with a credit card.
Phoenix
Member
And having it cheaper requires substantially more participation in the system so that the healthier people that don't need to run to the doctor every day end up subsidizing the people who do. The move to block the Medicare expansion was a clear shot across the bow of increased participation. This made it harder for the system to be able to sustain as it wasn't ever going to get to the numbers necessary for it to be profitable enough for the insurance companies to leave prices alone (because they weren't going to drop them).
However, there were places where health care did get less expensive, its just not something that translates well to the bill that you see from your doctor. ACA addressed *some* of the inefficiencies and stupidities of the current system, but couldn't get them all. Quite honestly I'm not sure that even a single payer system will work properly in a market as imperfect as health care.
The price elasticity of healthcare is pretty much zero or negative. If you need it, it doesn't matter how much it costs - you'll try to pay it (or go into debt to cover it).
Given how nutty (i.e. stupid) the public is about fearing socialism (while at the same time riding on public funded roads on their way to public schools policed by public funded police), cutting out the insurance company is nearly impossible. Its not only political suicide (insurance funded monkies will drag out Facebook social campaigns about communist countries), but the people would fight against it because they can very easily be played with the "big government", "illegal immigrant", "welfare queen", or "why should you work hard to help others" cards which are still high face value cards these days.
Phoenix
Member
Its so unfortunate that people STILL don't realize what is and isn't covered even with the crippled ACA system that we have today. Its like people who own car insurance but are afraid to use it because they think their deductible is going to go up as a result even if the accident isn't their fault.
StopMakingSense
Member
Not exactly right. The Medicaid expansion has nothing to do with the subsidies for exchange plans. It all has to do with people making less than 125% of poverty level, who are supposed to be guaranteed Medicaid, but the states haven't accepted the expansion. There is no precision for subsidies for these people. People making 125 - 400% (or whatever the exact percentages are) still have subsidies.
That is not giving true at all. It is expensive because no one wants to go after cost. Bringing health care costs in line to even Dutch standards would cause a recession.
My NYS insurance, already really fucking high, went up 20% this year. Fuck Obama care.
Mattlikewhoa
Member
Sorry for your loss OP, no one should ever be scared and risk their personal health.
Pfft, the healthcare system is awesome in Canada. Can it be improved? Of course, but I feel confident while having to use it.
My daughter was born 6 weeks early. It was a emergency C section. We had to stay in the Nic U for 4 weeks, before we were able to take her home.
The bill? $168, and that was because we had phone and cable in a separate room. I'm all for paying my taxes to know that everyone and anyone can access the same care that my family has.
Tomasoares said:
Pfft, the healthcare system is awesome in Canada. Can it be improved? Of course, but I feel confident while having to use it.
My daughter was born 6 weeks early. It was a emergency C section. We had to stay in the Nic U for 4 weeks, before we were able to take her home.
The bill? $168, and that was because we had phone and cable in a separate room. I'm all for paying my taxes to know that everyone and anyone can access the same care that my family has.
That would be five figures easily here (U.S.). This country is a joke in many ways.
Phoenix
Member
You're missing part of the story:
* If your state did NOT expand Medicaid, you would be eligible for marketplace subsidies if you make between 100% - 400% FPL.
Video explainer
* If your state DID expand Medicaid, that money was intended to cover the gap between Medicaid elifibility and families being able to afford private health insurance using marketplace subsidies Source.
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